


Comfort

by grandAce



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Asexual Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grandAce/pseuds/grandAce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Koushi had known from the start that Tooru was going to set the pace of their relationship, but that was okay. That was just the sort of person that Tooru Oikawa was, and that was just the person that Koushi loved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

Tooru was halfway out the door when he called out, voice carrying the tone of an important announcement:

“When I get back from class, we need to talk!”

For the same reason he mentally labeled Tooru as _roommate_ instead of _boyfriend_ – he could imagine Tooru turning red, stammering out that he wasn’t allowed to just _say_ things like that!! – Koushi believed the promised conversation was little more than Tooru’s usual melodrama. It didn’t matter, in any case. It was an announcement, not an option. Koushi didn’t give it too much thought and returned to working on his essay.

He was only somewhat aware of the time, casting glances toward the clock on his laptop in between finishing paragraphs and editing sentences. Half an hour, one hour, two hours passed, and Koushi noted in the back of his mind that Tooru’s math recitation was over and he would probably return soon. He kept typing.

The front door was what alerted Koushi to Tooru’s return, noisily swinging open as a herald. A loud sigh accompanied the heavy flop of a bag tossed onto a chair, and his roommate moved to the couch behind him, stretching out across it with a fresh sigh. Koushi waited. Without any prompting, Tooru began to speak.

“They’re all so _dumb_ ,” he lamented, reaching for a throw pillow to bury his face in. “I swear, I’m only going on quiz days from now on.” Koushi knew that this was mostly talk with very little bite, and that for all his complaining Tooru would still attend every class.

The knowledge made Koushi smile, earning Tooru a gentle “There there…” that bordered on a laugh as he returned to typing. Silence gradually descended over the room again, punctuated only by the clicking of the laptop’s keys. Koushi hadn’t forgotten Tooru’s promise that they would be having a talk, but he wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. If Tooru had forgotten, well, it probably wasn’t anything important.

But Tooru hadn’t forgotten. Eventually, he set down the pillow and he sat up on the couch. He didn’t say anything, but he stood up and circled around the low table Koushi sat in front of. Sitting on the side opposite, he leaned forward and pushed the laptop closed. Koushi removed his fingers and allowed the device to close entirely, setting his hands in his lap. He didn’t say anything still, and Tooru once more spoke in a serious tone.

“We need to talk, Koushi.”

The fact that Tooru’s voice didn’t even waver or hesitate made Koushi wonder how long he had spent rehearsing this conversation in his head. Silence followed the declaration. Just as he wondered whether he was expected to answer the statement or not, Tooru finally continued.

“I want to try having sex with you.”

In an instant, Koushi is reminded of a similar conversation. He remembered that, back then, Tooru had called him Suga with careful insistence, and that his voice had come slow and measured, as though he was prepared at any moment to laugh it off or chime in with a “just kidding!” if Koushi reacted negatively.

_“We’re not going to have sex.”_ Unlike _Suga_ , which Tooru had said carefully as though he had to bite back his own embarrassment, he said sex clearly and easily. Koushi wondered if it was a shock tactic meant to catch him off guard. After all, they had only been dating – _officially_ dating – for a week. Excluding the coffee shop visit where he’d finally asked Tooru out (since Tooru wasn’t going to ask _him_ out, apparently), this was the conclusion of their first date. _“I’m not interested in that sort of thing.”_

At the time, Koushi hadn’t asked any further questions about it. It was only their first real date! It took a few weeks more before Tooru ever elaborated. In typical Tooru fashion, he’d blended false laughter with false confidence, grinning with an air of authority as he dropped unfamiliar words and gave no explanation. It was google who gave Koushi actual answers: definitions and explanations about _asexual_ and all else that Tooru had rambled on about. It made sense, then.

That had been the end of that. Final exams were approaching, which meant that every professor thought it was the perfect time for one last test or project, and suddenly they both had other things to think about. It wasn’t until month later, with exams a fading memory and free time a commodity they had now in excess, that Koushi returned to the subject.

_“Thanks for telling me.”_

Koushi smiled.

“Okay,” he answered. Apparently that wasn’t at all what Tooru was expecting, because when Koushi opened his laptop again, all the brunet could do was sputter. So he _had_ planned out some sort of script for this conversation to follow.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Tooru finally managed, resting his chin in the palm of one hand and his elbow on the tabletop. “I’ve been telling you no for months, and then I turn around and spring a maybe.”

“You were going to explain it to me anyway, weren’t you?”

He ended up googling a few new words that day: _demisexuality_ , _gray asexual spectrum_ , _fluid consent_.

When they both finally stood up to stretch and Tooru proposed they pick up something for dinner, Koushi chipped in cheerfully, “We can pick up condoms and lube too.” He couldn’t help but laugh; he’d never seen someone both blanch and then flush in such quick succession.

It was still another three weeks before they actually needed them.

That was fine too.


End file.
